Rhodes is Wild over ref’s ‘error’

Bob Westerdale
Boxing

TRAINER Glyn Rhodes is calling for a re-match for his beaten boxer Carl Wild – saying a referee’s mistake was responsible for the defeat.

Wild suffered a first round stoppage against Derby’s Elvis Dube last weekend. The Walkley light heavy had beaten Dube a month earlier but was knocked down by a heavy punch to the chin.

Rhodes said: “There is no disputing the knock down but Carl was on his way up at the count of eight and the fight should have gone on. The referee (Doncaster’s Michael Alexander) misjudged it. Referees are supposed to use discretion and there’s no way Carl wasn’t fit to carry on.

“He was winning, had beaten him before and he beat the count. I have no personal axe to grind against the ref, but his decision was very unsatisfactory. Appealing against it would be a waste of time so I am hoping we can get a re-match sorted out quickly.”

While Wild has a won 10, lost 16, drawn three, record, Rhodes says he is highly professional about the way he conducts himself in the sport. “I wish I had a gym full of lads like him. Nobody pretends he is super-skilled; he knows his own shortcomings. He grafts hard at the gym and gives everything. Some kids go missing when they have had a bad decision, but that’s not in Carl’s nature. He just wants a re-match as soon as possible.”

Rhodes says Curtis Woodhouse is currently his top performer at Sheffield Boxing Centre. “To lose on points to a former world amateur champion (Frankie Gavin) was an incredible achievement. He boxed out of his skin.

“Then there’s Jez Wilson; he’s buzzing at the moment, he’ll be on a Hatton show at Ponds Forge soon and hopes to get a shot at a Commonwealth title too. Ross Burkinshaw has undergone a cruicate ligament operation so he’ll be out for a few months but we still have the likes of the Sam Sheedy, Reagan Denton, Wayne Reed and Billy Boyle plugging away.”